I have been waiting, as I’m sure many of you collector and Frank Frazetta fans, for years for the arrival of the masters iconic work of art “ Conan the Conqueror” recreated in full glory in 3D sculptured by Clayburn Moore.

My hopes are that at the end of this work-in-progress, I can inspire as many of you as I can, to pick up an airbrush/a handbrush and start to paint or re-paint your statues and figure masterpieces, using my system of painting that has worked for me. I would encourage you not to limit youself with my way of painting but to explore new concepts, methods and techniques, in this wonderful art form!

That being said, before I get in trouble or step on any toes, the disclaimer: This work-in-progress and any comparison I make to the factory paint job, or original painting is for demonstrational purposes only, to show how my work and style of painting are different. That being said, the typical factory paint job on the products from SC Moore Studio are among the best in the industry.

The intended purpose of my step-by-step how-to is to assist and promote the art form of painting, re-painting, statues/ figures to a wider audience on this forum such as modelers, painters and collectors, fans both nationally and internationally.

I would also like to give thanks to Master Frank Frazetta for making this all possible. Meeting him has been one of the high points in my career as a painter.

The Painting Strategy: It would have been great to have this figure in an unpainted kit version for this painting project, which would have made my life a lot easier. However, when my collector requested an unpainted version, it was declined by SC Moore Studio. I’m not sure of the reason.

Dismantling and Striping: Dismantling whereever possible or painting around it will be a challenge. I will probably strip the paint of some sections, if not all, depending on the relief of the details. Keep in mind that paint removal will also reveal many possible flaws like air holes, and other issues that are not visible with the paint. My point is that you don’t have to strip the entire statue to have a successful paint job! My painting approach will be my original style of painting statutes but I will base it on exclusively on the Master Frank Frazetta’s painting of “Conan the Conqueror” known as Berserker.

Analyze the Original: One of the first things I do is analyze the original painting in detail, looking for any real differences in the statue version and the original painted version.That being said one thing that stood out immediately was the fact the scabbard or dagger on Conan’s back is missing. I haven’t seen on the company’s pictures or promotions. However, it may be in the box.Now there are two ways around this: one is to contact SC Moore studio for a dagger, or sculpt or cast your own. I also noticed that Conan is looking down and a little to the left. This is important because it allows the viewer to see some of the whites in the upper part of the eyes, which adds shock value and focuses the eyes into a more intense Berserker look! His skin tone has a very unique pale color to it unlike the normal flesh on the other Conan paintings.

Creating your Pallet: I take a digital picture of the original painting and put it in Adobe Photoshop, which I enlarge to the point the pixels are large enough for me to print out and make swatches to develop my palette colors. Once I have my pallet figured out, I go back and try to analyze the light and tone values: true colors used, reflective values and color effects.